Bright-eyed Faye Swetlik deserved life. Her still-mourning community deserved closure

Faye Marie Swetlik should be playing with her friends and spending the upcoming holiday weekend with her family.

Instead, her family, friends and the rest of the Cayce community continue to grapple with her death.

The smiling little girl, with bright eyes, was abducted and killed on Feb. 10, 2020.

In an interview with The State conducted about a year after Faye’s death, her mother Selena Collins spoke of the overwhelming grief she feels and of her hope that Faye is not remembered simply by the way she died, but for the way she lived.

“I would hope that her name was synonymous with everything happy,” Collins said.

On Friday, the Cayce Department of Public Safety released a collection of investigative documents and materials, part of an open records request filed by news organizations, related to the case, which it now says is officially closed.

Byron Snellgrove, director of the Cayce Department of Public Safety, said all evidence indicates that Coty Taylor abducted and killed the little girl.

The information made public Friday reveals that police searched Taylor’s home unaware that her lifeless body was apparently hidden in a laundry bag there. She was later discovered in a wooded area near the Churchill Heights area. Taylor’s body was also found after he committed suicide.

The release of the documents took more than a year and we have to wonder why Cayce officials kept the investigative materials under wraps despite the belief that the killer was already dead by his own hand.

To protect and serve means more than responding to criminal incidents. It also means giving communities and families some peace of mind, some sense of closure or relief that everything that can be done has been done.

If news organizations had not requested the information, would it have been made public? Would the community know that the case was truly closed?

There is no easing the pain for young Faye’s family and friends. Their grief will likely last an eternity.

But police departments must understand that holding back information in a closed case helps no one and only adds to the pain and speculation that not knowing brings.

Rest easy, sweet Faye.

This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 5:11 PM.